


A Part Of Me Is Yours, Forever

by GlowingMechanicalHeart



Series: Molly Hooper Appreciation Works [1]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dating, Engagement, Established Relationship, F/M, Falling In Love, Feelings Realization, Getting Together, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Romantic Gestures, Surprises, True Love, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:01:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29188218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlowingMechanicalHeart/pseuds/GlowingMechanicalHeart
Summary: Toby has made his way onto the bed, and is now curled at the foot of it. Somehow, her mind wanders off in the middle of a show, and to her wonder, it circles around Greg. Closing her eyes, she thinks back on every interaction with him. And it is when it hits. Greg cares for her deeply.
Relationships: Molly Hooper/Greg Lestrade
Series: Molly Hooper Appreciation Works [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2146239
Comments: 6
Kudos: 8
Collections: Molly Hooper Appreciation Week February Bingo 2021





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For the Molly Hooper Appreciation Week Winter Bingo.  
> Square Molly x Greg.  
> Title from Rosamunde Pilcher's "The Shell Seekers."

It dawns upon Molly that Greg cares deeply about her, one day after a small dinner at Mrs. Hudson’s.

It start with a simple offer of taking her home, she declines, he has a long ride to his own, and the last thing she wants is to have him take a longer road home. She promises to take a cab. Greg looks at her seriously, and says, “Very well, if you’re sure…”

She smiled at him, thankful, “I am. Thank you Greg.”

Greg nods, puts his own jacket and before he leaves, he says to her, “Text me when you get home safe.”

She can’t help but to feel a warm at that, “I will, thank you Greg.” She watches as Greg climbs to his car, and waves at her before he drives off into the night. She keeps to her word, takes a cab and when she gets home and has locked herself in, she takes her phone and text Greg with a ‘Home safe, night!’.

Greg responds swiftly, with a ‘Good, rest well’.

She smiles and she makes herself a chamomile tea before bed, makes sure that Toby is well and fed and makes her way to her room. She opts for take a hot bath, and when she comes out, warm and rested, she sits on her bed, mug of tea in her hand and she turns the telly on.

Toby has made his way onto the bed, and is now curled at the foot of it. Somehow, her mind wanders off in the middle of a show, and to her wonder, it circles around Greg. Closing her eyes, she thinks back on every interaction with him. And it is when it hits. Greg cares for her deeply.

Greg has always been kind, generous and a good friend. But as she looks back, she can’t help but to feel a bit like an idiot. Yes, she had not missed how Greg had looked at her at that Christmas party, but she had simply dismissed, still infatuated with Sherlock, she had not paid any attention to Greg.

But it seemed that Greg’s interest had not faded. He was always willing to help her, they had had lunch together a couple of times as friends, he had taken her home on several occasions when they had been in the same place late at night. One time, she had been sick and Greg had offered to take her to the doctor, when she declined, he still had gotten her miso soup for her to eat and had gotten her enough for her not to worry for two days. He remembered her birthday and had given her a small gift in the shape of a book, he had even gotten her a plush for Toby once. And he always complimented her, one way or another, he was very flattery towards her.

One time, after what had happened with Sherlock’s sister, and she had confided to Greg being afraid, he had taken her hand, gently and promised to not let anything bad happen to her, “If you are afraid,” he had told her. “Call me, and I will come. And if I can’t come, I’ll stay on the line as long as you need it.”

How had she not seen it?

“I am an idiot, Toby.” She whispered, and set her mug on her bedside table. She continued to stare blankly at the telly, but her head was spinning. Greg cared for her, but would he date her? Or would he think that he was simply a replacement for Sherlock?

“I have some serious thinking to do Toby.”

When she woke the next morning, she still feels out of sorts. But fortunately, she doesn’t see Greg for a few days, something in his work keeps him busy enough. She takes that time to sort how she feels and what she ought to do.

In the end, she decided to give Greg a chance. He’s a mature man who has his life together, is secure in his own persona and work, he’s easy to get alone and yes, he’s a dashing. Quite the silver fox already, and he does have lovely eyes.

Once she’s made up her mind, she sends him a text, ‘Can we meet, whenever you can?’

Greg’s text comes back a few moments later, ‘Does tomorrow work for you?’

‘Yes, after work.’

‘Very well. See you tomorrow. I’ll pick you up.’

‘Thank you.’

She spends the day a bit distracted, only finding relief when she’s back at home cuddling Toby. And the following day, she picks a nice outfit and puts her hair on a braid, an unusual hairstyle for her, but she wants to look nice and presentable. She knows that it’s not necessary, but for once, she wants to look nice for Greg.

The day goes quickly, and she can’t help but to smile when she sees Greg standing near the door, waiting for her. “Hello,” she says.

“Hi, Molly, you look nice.”

“Thank you.”

“Ready? Do you have a place in mind?” They begin to make their way to Greg’s car. “Or do you want me to pick a place?”

“Go ahead and pick, I’m not feeling picky. I’m up to be surprised.”

“Very well.”

To her surprise, Greg opts for an Indian restaurant. She doesn’t mind at all, she likes the food and this is a new place, one that she trusts Greg to pick a good place. They order, and chat about their day, and it’s only when the food comes, that her nerves begin to come up.

“Greg, I wanted to ask something from you.”

Greg looks up from his tikka masala, “Yes?” He takes a sip of his drink and waits. “You can ask anything.”

She takes a sip of her lassi, and then takes a deep breath and speaks. “I was wondering, if you’d like to go on a date with me.” There, she’s said it. No taking it back.

Greg froze for a moment, then he tilted his head back and leaned backwards. There was something in his eyes that she couldn’t place. “Molly, you don’t have ask this if you don’t want that.”

She shook her head, “No, I mean it Greg. I want to.”

Greg looked at her for a long moment, she didn’t look away, she looked at him straight in the eyes. Then, to her surprise, he smiled. “Molly, I’d be delighted.”

It was then when she felt a surge of relief. She smiled at Greg and reached her hand for his, he met her halfway. “Oh good, because I really want to. I know this might come out of the blue, but I do really want to see where we could go.”

Greg squeezed her hand, “Me too, Molly, me too.”

Her smile grew, and she realized how right this felt.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is four months into her relationship with Greg, when Molly realizes that the color purple has been present for important dates. And it wasn’t just the dates that were memorable, the dates themselves had been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For my bing card, square 'Purple'.

It is four months into her relationship with Greg, when Molly realizes that the color purple has been present for important dates. And it wasn’t just the dates that were memorable, the dates themselves had been.

Greg had insisted that for their first one, they should do something lighthearted and fun, something that took pressure off and should they decide not to try and date again, it would still be something they could look back with some degree of amusement.

She agreed, curious as to what Greg had planned. He had grinned widely and told her to wear something comfortable, that they would be going golfing. And she nearly cringed, she wasn’t a golfer, so she could hardly say she was excited. That was, until the actual date. Greg had told her that jeans and a jumper would be fine, normal shoes too.

That had perplexed her, because she knew that golfers wore special shoes, but Greg had given her a wink and promised her that it would be fine. So, she did, she had worn a cozy lavender jumper and jeans and cute flats, she had still done some make-up and her hair was loose, nothing wrong with wanting to look nice.

The day of the date, she was surprised and couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her when she saw were Greg had taken them, it was Swingers. An interesting restaurant that had a mini golf course inside it. In fact, the golf course was the main attraction, the restaurant and bar were tucked near one the walls. “Oh, now I see, this kind of golfing?” She said with a laugh.

Greg had given her a quite self-satisfied grin, “Well, I don’t golf myself, but here? No harm if we’re both terrible, right? Besides, food and drinks nearby.”

She had agreed, and they had spend quite some time in the course before sitting down for food and the promised drinks. They had talked too, and by the time the date was over, she told him she was looking forward their next date. “I really appreciate the no pressure date,” she also had told him.

“I’m glad you did,” Greg had responded. “Looking forward the next one.”

And that’s how it started, and they did, in fact, began to officially date and being exclusive with each other. And while the dates that followed were more on the conventional side, one time, Greg surprised her with an outing at a bar. She had dressed nicer that day, because the plan was to go from work to the place that Greg had in mind. A nice plum skirt and a button down was her outfit of choice.

And once again, Greg doesn’t disappoint. “We’ll get our food and drinks were we’re going.” He says with a secretive air.

The place, as it turns out, is Aqua Shard. And she feels quite enchanted at the place, much more so for the view that offers. She can see all of London, and after getting their drinks, she has never seen the city from this high up, she and chat about their day as the sun begins its descent and night falls over the city and lights begin to turn on. Their meal is lovely, the drinks even better.

It is there, that she and Greg share their first kiss. And she feels quite the romantic, after all, night is falling and they have a darkening London as their background. She likes it, and she decides then and there, that she likes kissing Greg much more.

And they continue to date, quite happily. 

She’s wearing a deep plum lacy underwear set when she and Greg sleep together for the first time. She doesn’t forget how tender he is with her, as if he were afraid of breaking her with his touch. But she welcomes that fire, that passion that simmers below his usual stern working demeanor.

Another memorable date happens at their first month anniversary. She wants to watch a movie, and Greg agrees happily enough. But he also promises that the location will have to wait a bit, she doesn’t mind, even if she wonders why, but then she remembers that Greg likes to have surprises and unusual and special places for them, so she relents and lets him pick the place. This time, however, she picks a black dress with purple flowers on it.

The place, as it turns out, is a chapel. She blinks surprised and blurts, “Here?” 

Greg nods, “Just wait until you see inside.”

She trusts him again, and gets out of the car and waits for him. Greg, much like the gentleman that he is, offers his arm and when she has taken it, they walk towards the chapel. Once inside, she is once again surprised that Greg has somehow managed to surprise her. The inside of the chapel is decorated for a romantic night, there are flower bouquets and candles lit, all in good spots to prevent a fire. The pews have colourfull cushions. “Alright,” she says and turns to give Greg a kiss. “You proved me wrong, again. This is interesting, how do you found it?”

They are walking towards their places when Greg answers, “A fellow at Scotland Yard, he told me about this place, they change location, so it’s a guessing game on where we’ll watch a movie. Sounded like fun to me.”

“It is fun, a good place to visit a new place and watch a movie.” The cushions are very soft, and she knows that it will be a romantic movie, and she is quite happy that Greg found this place. She looks around and takes it all in, this, she makes note, is something they should do more often.

And they enjoy their night, watching a romantic movie, she doesn’t even miss the popcorn.

The dates continue, they grow cozy and comfortable – not that the others were uncomfortable – and they both quietly begin to settle into the relationship. 

It doesn’t change that Greg saves interesting dates for anniversaries. And he doesn’t disappoint for their second month, that date is marked with him in a purple shirt and tie at a theater that is for up and coming playwrights. She enjoys herself immensely with the play – a comedy. 

Their third month, he takes her to Barbican. More specifically, the Conservatiory, she’s wearing lavender again in the form of printed flowers, “I match with plants,” she jokes as they strode around simply enjoying the greenery.

Greg shakes his head, “No, you are a flower Molly.” And then he motions with his hands, “None can match you.”

She stares at Greg for a moment, then smiles and pulls Greg down for a kiss. Who would have guess that Greg could be quite the romantic?

And they’re about to go for their fourth month, when she freezes in front of the mirror, smiles and opts for a purple turtleneck blouse and a the same lavender jumper she wore on their first date. She knows where they are going this time, and she doesn’t want to be cold. 

After all, you could hardly wear a dress while kayaking in the Thames, could you? But she’s quite excited and very much looking forward to that. Before she lives, she gives herself a once over in the mirror, and nods. Purple was not a color she wore often, but she didn’t mind that it had now become a part of her memories with Greg. It could have been worse.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is a year and a half of dating, when Greg begins to act… not strange, but it’s more secretive. At first he blames work, says that someone kicked something his way that is stressing him out. Molly just kisses him and lets him rest with her.
> 
> But then, after ‘the something’ is over, Greg is still acting strange. She is not one to suspect cheating, Greg’s far too honest for it, but it unnerves her. “Is something troubling you?” She finally asks over dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For my bingo card, square 'Valentine's Day.'

It is a year and a half of dating, when Greg begins to act… not strange, but it’s more secretive. At first he blames work, says that someone kicked something his way that is stressing him out. Molly just kisses him and lets him rest with her.

But then, after ‘the something’ is over, Greg is still acting strange. She is not one to suspect cheating, Greg’s far too honest for it, but it unnerves her. “Is something troubling you?” She finally asks over dinner.

Greg looks at her surprised. “No, Molly, all’s fine.”

She frowns, “It doesn’t look like that, you’ve been… quieter, as if you were hiding something.”

It is then that Greg stops eating, “Well,” he speaks slowly, as if thinking his words carefully. But in the end, he sighs, “I am planning a special Valentine’s. No, don’t ask me what it will be, you’ll see, but putting everything together is being… difficult.”

She leans forward, “You know that you don’t have to, right?” The last thing she wants is for Greg to feel like he has to go all out. He is still taking her on special dates, fun places they have discovered either he or she.

“Oh I know,” Greg gives her a grin. “I just simply want to. And besides, I think you’ll like what I have planned.”

She arches a brow and her lips curl upwards, “That, I don’t doubt. You really have found ways to surprise me a lot.”

Greg grins, “Good, good. You just wait.”

They resume eating their dinner, and after they make their way to their bedroom. There, they cuddle in bed and watch a movie, Toby curls up at their feet. It’s a quiet and calm night, she is already feeling better thanks to her talk with Greg.

A week before Valentine’s, Greg asks her to take the day off. “All day, Valentine?” she asks frowning. She’s never taken a day off just for a date.

“Yes, all day. Surprise starts relatively early.” Then Greg frowns, “Unless you can make it back to the flat before four… that’s when our first appointment starts.”

Now she’s curious, and pretty certain their first appointment is high tea. It’s the hour who gives it up. “Very well, I’ll take the day off.”

“Excellent!”

Valentine’s Day arrives, to find them both in bed, simply enjoying each other. And it’s Greg who makes breakfast, pancakes with bacon and coffee. They indulge and eat in bed, neither is going anywhere until much later, so she takes the change to enjoy Greg and quietness.

She has picked a nice outfit, as Greg is keen to remind her, because they will be going to different spots and they could hardly be coming back to the flat to change. So, she heeds his advice and opts for a nice dress and tosses a coat over it. Does her hair and make up, and Greg looks quite dashing in a suit and tie. “Ready?” Greg asks when he sees her, and she doesn’t miss how he looks at her. 

She grins, “Very.”

“Then, let us go.”

Their first spot is tea, she can’t quite help but to stare in disbelief when Greg takes her to TWG Tea Salon, there, they go for the three course menu and high tea. She’s fit to burst at the end, but everything was so well done, and well, it’s not everyday that she indulges and she can be excused, after all, delicious food should not be wasted.

Their second spot is the cinema, more specifically, Backyard Cinema. The one they now favor, even if they still go to the regular one. This time, they watch Moulin Rouge at a bodega that has been decorated for the occasion.

“This is so nice,” she whispers as they sit side by side, holding hands. 

“And it’s not done,” Greg whispers back.

Greg was not joking, for after the movie is done, he leads them to London’s Eye, he made the Valentine’s Day reservation, there, they enjoy the champagne and truffles as they are going up. It’s only when they are high on the sky, that Greg lets go and she frowns.

“Molly.” Greg says, looking quite serious. “I know we have been together for a good time now, but I find that I am so happy with you, you’re a special person and I love who I am with you.” He pulls something from his pocket, it’s a small sachet and her eyes go wide. “And I know that I don’t want to let you go,” he pulls a beautiful ring of sapphire with two diamonds on the side from the small bag and lifts it so she can see it well. “Because if I did, I’d be the greatest fool that ever lived. I love you Molly Hooper, and I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you honour me by being my wife?”

Her eyes are brimming with tears, and she feels her heart beating so loud, she’s certain Greg can hear it. There’s a knot in her throat too, yes, she loves this man as she never imagined she could love him. So she does what she can, she frantically nods her head and manages to say, “Yes,” before going to Greg’s arms, careful not to make him drop the ring. She kisses him with passion, they only part when they are short of breath and they are both smiling. “Yes, I’ll marry you.” She says again.

Greg slides the ring on her finger and they kiss again. “This is the most perfect Valentine’s Day ever,” she tell him.

“Oh it’s not over.” Greg says. “We still have two places to go.”

Her eyes widen, “Really?”

“Yes, really.” That’s all that Greg says.

When they are back down on the ground, Greg takes them to Bart’s. And when they arrive, it’s clear that it is a murder mystery investigation. She turns to look at him, Greg laughs, “We have an advantage! I’m a DCI and we are friends with Sherlock. We can do this.”

And they do. They have a blast solving it and they win, and everyone is clapping at them, while they bow as thanks. Throughout it all, she looks at the ring on her finger, and smiles.

The last place they go is Anthracite Martini Lounge, they have jazz music playing and they are not drinking beyond champagne (they did at Bart’s) but they enjoy the canapes both sweet and savory and the music. They are in a corner, quietly swaying to it, and as she looks into Greg’s smiling face and happy eyes, she knows, that a part of her is his, and a part of him is hers, forever.


End file.
